Dear Just Be: Yikes! It is my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner...how do I carve a turkey?

Happy Thanksgiving!

With a little confidence and by following a few simple steps, you can have a beautifully carved turkey on your holiday table! After your turkey is finished cooking, remove the turkey from the oven and let set for 20 minutes before carving.

To carve the turkey:
1. Place bird, breast up, with legs to carver’s right if right-handed and to the left if left-handed. Remove ties or skewers.

2. While gently pulling leg and thigh away from body, cut through joint between leg and body. Separate drumstick (leg) and thigh by cutting down through connecting joint.

3. Make a deep horizontal cut into breast just above wing. Insert fork in top of breast, and starting halfway up breast, carve thin slices down to the horizontal cut, working from outer edge of bird to the center.

4. Now repeat steps 1 through 3 on the other side of the bird.

Special Note: Remove and separate drumstick (leg) and thigh as directed above, and serve them whole or carve them. To carve, remove meat from drumstick (leg) by slicing at an angle, and slice thigh by cutting even slices parallel to the bone.

A special cooking tidbit is to cook the bird in a cooking bag and place the turkey upside down to ensure juicy and flavorful breast meat. For the last 30 minutes of cooking time, remove the turkey from the bag and finish cooking right-side up so as to brown the top of the turkey.

We hope this helps your holiday dinner go smoothly and you have a wonderful holiday with your friends and family!